Tiered Approach

In line with the commitment to safeguard capacity and support personnel already in the Organization, a majority of UNDP UNCDF/UNV vacancies are advertised using a tiered application process whereby:

Tier 0: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV IP staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments, whose posts will be abolished, or contracts will be terminated or not renewed during 2026.
Tier 1: Other UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments
Tier 2: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding temporary appointments (TA), personnel on regular PSA contracts, and Expert and Specialist UN Volunteers
Tier 3 or no tier indicated: All other contract types from UNDP/UNCDF/UNV and other agencies, and other external candidates

Please make note of the Tier(s) indicated in the vacancy title, if any, and ensure that you satisfy the eligibility to apply.

Background

UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP's policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels, forms a contiguous spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in the Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in the Strategic Plan.

Within the GPN, the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP's Strategic Plan. BPPS's staff provides technical advice to Country Offices, advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas. BPPS works closely with UNDP's Crisis Bureau (CB) to support emergency and crisis response. BPPS ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP's development programmes. BPPS assists UNDP and partners to achieve higher quality development results through an integrated approach that links results-based management and performance monitoring with more effective and new ways of working. BPPS supports UNDP and partners to be more innovative, knowledge and data driven including in its programme support efforts.

UNDP has achieved significant progress in making gender equality and women’s empowerment integral to its work on human development. The new UNDP Gender Equality Strategy 2026-2029 complements the UNDP Strategic Plan 2026-2029, approved by Executive Board consensus, which defines gender equality as one of three accelerators of human development on a healthy planet. The Strategy acknowledges that success in every area of the Strategic Plan depends on realizing gender equality and the empowerment of women. It retains the ambition of the previous strategy, with a central focus on transforming the systems and power structures that generate gender inequalities. It calls on UNDP to help governments place gender equality at the core of political, economic, and environmental decisions, with the goal of expanding development choices that work for all. The Strategy defines gender equality priorities across each strategic objective and accelerator of the Strategic Plan. It focuses on areas where UNDP has a strong comparative advantage and where solutions can be scaled, building on successful initiatives and partnerships. UNDP also recognizes that mechanical or compliance approaches will not suffice to address the scope of discrimination, and the importance of renewing emphasis on partnerships, including with the private sector. The Strategy proposes institutional transformation inspired by UNDP Gender Equality Seal Certification principles and aligned to the United Nations system-wide Action Plan on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-SWAP) and Gender Equality Action Plan (GEAP) standards. UNDP recognizes that external impact and delivery mirror internal policies, structures, culture and ways of working.

The Gender Team (BPPS) has the leading role in the implementation of the Gender Equality Strategy 2026-2029, including through the implementation of Gender Equality Global Programme.

Duties and Responsibilities

Reporting directly to the Head of Gender in New York, the Gender Specialist, Accountability and Reporting will ensure UNDP is accountable for its commitments to gender equality in line with the Strategic Plan 2026-2929 and the Gender Equality Strategy 2026-2029; lead the implementation of the UN-SWAP and the GEAP to advance UN-System wide commitments on gender equality and interagency coordination; lead UNDP’s efforts to track financial investments for gender equality; and lead and provide reliable gender-related data for decision-making.

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.

Ensure UNDP is accountable for its commitments to gender equality in line with the Strategic Plan 2026-2929 and the Gender Equality Strategy 2026-2029.

Coordinate and deliver UNDP’s reporting on gender equality including the Annual Report on the Implementation of the UNDP Gender Equality Strategy (official and glossy version), the GEAP Annual Report, the UN-SWAP Annual Report, and the ECOSOC reports.
Provide technical and coordination support for the preparation, convening and follow-up of the Gender Steering and Implementation Committee (GSIC), as the main mechanism for monitoring implementation of the GES 2026-2029.
Provide advice and technical support to ensure performance assessment criteria for all senior and middle managers include implementation of the GES 2026-2029, in close collaboration with key bureaus and teams (OHR/BMS, Gender Equality Seal for Development, among others).
Act as evaluation and audit focal point for the Gender Team, including by liaising with the UNDP Independent Evaluation Office and the Audit Office; engaging in corporate gender evaluations or audits; preparing management responses; tracking the implementation of evaluation recommendations; and delivering the reports and evaluation of the Gender Equality Global Programme 2023-2025.
Ensure the gender equality data powerhouse is updated.

Lead the implementation of the UN-SWAP and the GEAP to advance UN-System wide commitments on gender equality and interagency coordination.

Develop and lead UNDP’s Action Plan for the effective implementation of its commitments in the framework of the UN-SWAP and GEAP.
Liaise with key teams and units (HQ, RH and CO) to ensure UNDP meets UN SWAP/GEAP standards.
Engage closely with the UNDP Gender Equality Seal for country offices, as the primary global initiative to operationalize the GES 2026-2029.
Represent UNDP and the Gender Team in key global UN interagency coordination spaces, such as IANGWE, UN-SWAP and GEAP.
Support UNDP’s participation in intergovernmental conferences and high-level inter-agency events related to system-wide commitments for gender equality.

Lead UNDP’s efforts to track financial investments for gender equality.

Lead implementation of UNDP’s gender marker as the main tool to track budgets and expenditures for gender equality at all levels (HQ, RH and CO).
Ensure UNDP’s gender marker meets UN system wide quality standards; coordinate quality assurance and periodic reviews to ensure accuracy.
Provide technical support to HQ’s Teams, RH and COs to help them meet UNDP’s gender marker targets (GES 2026-2029); foster learning and knowledge sharing.
Coordinate the development of financial and narrative annual reports/snapshots for leadership decision-making (i.e., global, by region, by priority), including analysis of progress towards the targets established in the GES 2026-2029.
Represent UNDP in inter-agency fora on the implementation of gender markers and other mechanisms to track financial investments for gender equality.

Lead and provide reliable gender-related data for decision-making.

Collect and analyze relevant corporate data from different sources (i.e., Gender Marker, ROAR, Gender Equality Seal, including AI driven analytics) for evidence-based decision-making and programming.
Develop dashboards and visualizations to communicate complex findings in clear, compelling ways.
Prepare policy briefs, reports, and presentations that translate data into actionable recommendations for stakeholders.
Liaise with Regional Hubs’ Gender Teams and Country Offices to identify their data needs and interests; and contribute to strengthening their capacities in data collection and analysis for decision-making and programming.
Provide content for the activities of the Global Gender Equality Community of Practice (CoP) and the Gender Equality Seal Learning Plan, drawing from data and lessons learned from the different workstreams.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: None.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact
Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems
Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences
Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands
Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration
Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity

Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies

2030 Agenda People – Gender

Monitoring and Evaluation on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment.

2030 Agenda People – Gender

Data and Research on Gender Equality.

2030 Agenda People – Gender

Gender Equality and Institutional Transformation.

Business Direction & Strategy - System Thinking

Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.

Business Development - Knowledge Generation

Ability to research information and to turn it into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need.
Ability to apply existing concepts to new situations, and to develop new concepts to generate workable solutions and new approaches.
Knowledge of relevant concepts, conceptual models, and theories that can be useful in addressing new situations.

Business Management - Working with Evidence and Data

Ability to inspect, cleanse, transform and model data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions and supporting decision-making.

Business Management - Portfolio Management

Ability to select, prioritise and control the organization's programmes and projects in line with its strategic objectives and capacity.
Ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives with regular activities for optimal return on investment.
Knowledge and understanding of key principles of project, programme, and portfolio management.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in statistics, feminist economics, data science and analytics, gender studies and/or relevant related fields is required;

OR
A first-level university degree (Bachelor´s degree) in the above-mentioned fields of study, in combination with two additional years of relevant work experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

Minimum of five (5) years (with Master’s degree) or seven (7) years (with Bachelor’s degree) of progressively responsible professional experience in accountability, reporting and/or data analysis is required.
Technical expertise in gender equality is desired, with feminist economics as an added plus.
Proven knowledge and experience in data science and analytics, including preprocessing, exploration, use and visualization of data for decision-making is desired, with AI driven data analytics as an added plus.
Proven experience in producing quality reports in English is desired.
Proven experience in coordination with diverse partners and stakeholders is desired, with experience in coordination with UN-System entities as an added plus.
Proven knowledge and experience working with UN accountability tools is desired, with experience with UNDP accountability tools as an added plus.
Proficiency in statistical software and data visualization tools is required.

Language:

Fluency in English is required.
Knowledge of another UN language is an advantage.

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination.

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles.

Probation

For all new UNDP fixed term appointments (FTA), including for staff members being transferred or seconded to UNDP under the Inter-Organization Agreement concerning Transfer, Secondment or Loan of Staff, on an appointment of more than one year, continuation of the appointment beyond the initial 12 months is contingent upon the successful completion of a probationary period.

Right to select multiple candidates

UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

Use of AI by candidates

Applicants are invited to read UNDP’s guidance for candidates on using AI responsibly in UNDP recruitment and selection

Scam alert

UNDP does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process. For further information, please see www.undp.org/scam-alert.

Gender Specialist Accountability & Reporting [Open to internal and external applicants]